Police fired teargas and traded gunfire during a military
operation in the village of Kerdasa, 14 kilometers from the
capital of Cairo, state TV reported.

The security forces launched a crackdown to restate their
authority in the area dominated by Islamist supporters of ousted
President Mohamed Morsi.

65 people have been arrested in Kerdasa so far, the MENA state
news agency said quoting a security source, while dozens of
weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, have been seized.

Also on Thursday the public metro transport system was shut down
in the north-east of Cairo while two primitive bombs were
defused.

Militant attacks have been on the rise after Morsi was deposed on
July 3, triggering violent clashes between his Muslim Brotherhood
supporters and security forces.

In the midst of political turmoil in Egypt the army backed
authorities have launched a crackdown against Islamists.

Eleven police officers were killed as the Kerdasa police station
was torched in the attack on August 14. The violence was
triggered by the security forces' assault on the pro-Morsi
protest camps in Cairo the same day that left hundreds of his
supporters dead.

Egypt has been in a state of emergency since the August 14
crackdown. A large part of the country remains under a nighttime
curfew. The government has shortened the curfew hours from 11pm
to midnight on Saturdays, and to 7 pm on Fridays, traditionally a
day of protest.

The pro-Morsi National Coalition to Support Legitimacy has called
for nationwide protests on Friday.